Plasma processes are widely used in many industries, such as the semiconductor manufacturing industry. For example, plasma etching is widely used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. There are four basic types of plasma etching processes that are used to remove material from surfaces: sputter etching, pure chemical etching, ion energy driven etching, and ion inhibitor etching.
Sputter etching is the ejection of atoms from the surface of a substrate due to energetic ion bombardment. Pure chemical etching uses a plasma discharge to supply gas-phase etchant atoms or molecules that chemically react with the surface of a substrate to form gas-phase products. Ion-enhanced energy driven etching uses a plasma discharge to supply both etchant and energetic ions to a surface of a substrate. Ion inhibitor etching uses a discharge to provide etchant, energetic ions, and inhibitor precursor molecules that deposit on the substrate to form a protective layer film. It is desirably to increase the uniformity and etch rate of known sputter etching systems.